Much has changed since last November, when Afghans were praising Pakistan for saying it would no longer support the Taliban and would instead work for peace.

"We believe that relations between the two countries are deteriorating," says Aimal Faizi, spokesman for President Hamid Karzai.

Faizi says the downward slide started last month. The two countries had agreed to convene a conference of religious scholars, or ulema, to denounce suicide bombing. But the conference fell apart at the last minute, with each country blaming the other for undermining the effort.

"The head of Pakistan's ulema council issued a statement saying that it's allowed to send suicide bombers to Afghanistan because of the international military presence in Afghanistan," Faizi says.

'Enough Is Enough'

While the Pakistani cleric says the comment was misreported, Afghans were apoplectic. Last week, tempers flared again when an official in the Pakistani Foreign Ministry called Karzai an obstacle to peace with the Taliban. For its part, the Afghan government is complaining that Pakistan has issued harsh preconditions for negotiations on a peace deal with the Taliban.

"Enough is enough," Faizi says.

He says Pakistan is not cooperating in efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, and that Afghanistan will work without its neighbor. Pakistani officials deny that they have set any preconditions for peace talks. Analysts and officials say the war of words isn't helping either country.

"We've always thought that the relationship was going to take a long time to get into a good place," says Richard Stagg, the British ambassador in Kabul.

The British government held a trilateral summit in February at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence in England. There, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to a six-month time frame to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. But the British government had its doubts coming out of the summit.

"We didn't emerge from Chequers feeling that there was a clear upward path to a new and better place," Stagg says.

He says there are ongoing efforts to move the two countries closer together.

"I think the role of the outside world is to try to build some underpinning structures which keep some stability at the bottom of the relationship as the volatility at the top unfolds," he says.

A Two-Way Street

One way to do that: strengthening ties between the intelligence services and militaries of the two countries. The new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, just traveled to Pakistan in hopes of strengthening those relationships. But no one expects quick progress.

"This is like a pendulum that keeps swinging," says Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. "I mean, it's been swinging for the last few years."

She says the Afghan government has long blamed its neighbor for saying one thing and doing another, but it's a two-way street.

"From the Pakistani side, I think they've also been faced with a vacillating Afghan government," she says.

Stagg says the two countries have to face certain uncomfortable realities.

"Seems to us that the two countries have a deep shared dependency, that neither is going to be stable and prosperous unless the other is," he says.

He says he thinks Afghanistan and Pakistan can weather the current storm. But they need to tone down the stinging rhetoric, which is often designed to rally the political base at home. Analysts say as both countries enter into election cycles, the motivation to demonize the other for domestic political gain might be hard to resist.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been poor for many reasons, but here's a vital one: Taliban bases in Pakistani territory are used to attack Afghanistan. In recent months, there were signs the two countries could be turning a corner, cooperating to forge a peace deal with the Taliban. But a series of diplomatic problems appear to have wiped those gains away.

Here's NPR's Sean Carberry.

SEAN CARBERRY, BYLINE: Last November, Afghans were praising Pakistan for saying it would no longer support the Taliban, and would instead work for peace. But now...

AIMAL FAIZI: We believe that relations between the two countries are deteriorating.

CARBERRY: Aimal Faizi is the spokesman for President Hamid Karzai. He says the downward slide started last month. The two countries had agreed to convene a conference of religious scholars, or Ulema, to denounce suicide bombing. But the conference fell apart at the last minute, with each country blaming the other for undermining the effort.

FAIZI: The head of Pakistani Ulema Council issued a statement saying that it's allowed to send suicide bombers to Afghanistan, because of the international military presence in Afghanistan.

CARBERRY: While the Pakistani cleric claims the comment was misreported, Afghans were apoplectic. Last week, tempers flared again when an official in the Pakistani foreign ministry called Afghan President Karzai an obstacle to peace with the Taliban. For its part, the Afghan government is complaining that Pakistan has issued a series of harsh preconditions for negotiations on a peace deal with the Taliban.

FAIZI: Enough is enough.

CARBERRY: Aimal Faizi says Pakistan is not cooperating in efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, and Afghanistan will work without them. Pakistani officials deny they have set any preconditions for peace talks. Analysts and officials say that the war of words isn't helping either country.

AMBASSADOR RICHARD STAGG: We've always felt that the relationship was going to take a long time to get into a good place.

CARBERRY: Richard Stagg is the British ambassador in Kabul. Back in February, the British government held a trilateral summit at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence. There, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to a six-month time frame to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban, but the British government had its doubts coming out of the summit.

STAGG: We didn't emerge from Chequers feeling that there was a clear, upward path to a new and better place.

CARBERRY: Stagg says there are ongoing efforts to move the two countries closer together.

STAGG: I think the role of the outside world is to try to build some underpinning structures which keep some stability at the bottom of the relationship, as the volatility at the top unfolds.

CARBERRY: For example, strengthening ties between the intelligence services and militaries of the two countries. The new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, just traveled to Pakistan in hopes of strengthening those relationships. But no one expects quick progress.

Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

KATE CLARK: This is like a pendulum that keeps swinging. I mean, it's been swinging for the last few years.

CARBERRY: She says the Afghan government has long blamed its neighbor for saying one thing and doing another, but it's a two-way street.

CLARK: From the Pakistani side, I think they've also been faced with a vacillating Afghan government.

CARBERRY: Ambassador Stagg says the two countries have to face certain uncomfortable realities.

STAGG: Seems to us that the two countries have a deep-shared dependency, that neither is going to be stable and prosperous unless the other is.

CARBERRY: He thinks Afghanistan and Pakistan can weather the current storm. But they need to tone down the stinging rhetoric, which is often designed to rally the political base at home. Analysts say as both countries enter into election cycles, the motivation to demonize the other for domestic political gain might be hard to resist.